Betrayal, despair and madness combine for an extraordinary production of Bellini’s rarely staged masterpiece Il Pirata at the Teatro Real in Madrid.
Written when Bellini was just 26-years-old, Soprano Sonya Yoncheva casts her spell on yet another strong female character – the heroine Imogene.
Her tragic lover Gualtiero is passionately portrayed by Javier Camarena.
The emotion-drenched opera pushes the human voice to its limits, and is seldom-heard because of its challenges.
Yoncheva told Musica: “From the first note to the last one, it’s a challenge all the time. It’s vocal gymnastics. But this is what the Bel Canto is all about, right? That’s why we love it. It’s our most sportive discipline.»
Camarena agrees, pointing out one particularly difficult passage in the musical score. «I think it is the hardest page I have ever sung in this opera,” he said.
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